Newsom declines to endorse reparations checks proposed by California task force

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to throw his support behind cash payments of up to $1.2 million for black residents recommended by his reparations task force, according to a report.

The Democratic governor told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that reparations — meant to take responsibility for the country’s history of slavery and systemic racism — “is about much more than cash payments.”

He called the task force’s findings a milestone in the effort to advance justice.

“This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country,” Newsom said in a statement to the outlet. “Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments.”

But he declined to endorse any specific recommendations by the task force while still praising its work, according to the publication.

“Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond,” he said. 

The nine-member committee voted in favor of several recommendations Saturday including cutting eligible black Californians a minimum of $360,000 in checks.

The task force recommended that the state create a new agency that would determine how much each black resident was owed by California as a result of their ancestors being enslaved or racist policies like redlining.

The group’s suggested payments range from a few thousand to as much as $1.2 million depending on a series of eligibility factors, like past incarceration and housing discrimination, according to Fox News.

Some economists had estimated that the payouts could cost taxpayers upwards of $800 billion — more than 2.5 times California’s annual budget.

The task force didn’t offer any ideas of where the money would come from.

The committee is expected to submit its final recommendations to the California Legislature in the near future and the lawmakers will then decide whether and how to put its recommendations into action before sending them to Newsom for his signature.